Winter Texan numbers dropping in the Valley

I don't quite understand the issue with medical insurance for those Americans 65 years old or older. If they worked 10 years they qualify for Medicare. A wife qualifies thru her husband and therefore does not need to have worked at all. Part "A" cost nothing. part "B" cost the average Americam $105 a month. This fee is automatically deducted from their Social Security payment. Medigap policies (if you even want one) to cover the deductible for part "B" ($147, and 20% co pay for the office visit0 are relatively low in price because the payouts are relatively small. The big cost in Ametica is for hospital stays and that coverage is complete and FREE. There is a hospital deductible of $1216.


What Does Medicare Cover?

The first thing to learn about Medicare is its different parts. Together, Part A and Part B are called original Medicare or traditional Medicare.

Part A
Also called hospital insurance, Part A is part of traditional Medicare. Most people are enrolled automatically in Part A when they reach age 65.

Medicare Part A covers the cost if you are admitted to a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or hospice. It also covers some home health services.

With Part A, you'll pay:

A deductible each year. This is how much you have to spend before Medicare starts to pay its part.
Coinsurance. This is the part of the costs for hospital care after you've met your deductible.
If you or your spouse worked for 10 years or more in the U.S., you don't have to pay a monthly fee to have Part A.

If you or your spouse did not work at least 10 years in the U.S., you have to pay a monthly fee to have Part A. The amount is more if you or your spouse worked less than 7.5 years in the U.S.

Part B
Also called medical insurance, Part B is part of traditional Medicare, and it's common for people to be automatically enrolled. Medicare Part B covers outpatient care. For instance, it pays for visits to a doctor’s office, tests, and preventive health care like cancer screenings and vaccines. Part B also covers some medical supplies, like blood sugar test strips, therapeutic shoes, and more.

For Medicare Part B, you pay:

A monthly fee
A deductible, which is a set amount you pay each year before Part B starts paying for any of your care
Twenty percent of the Medicare-approved amount for some types of care. These are doctor's appointments, physical therapy, diabetes supplies, durable medical equipment like commode chairs, wheelchairs, and others. You have to meet your deductible before you start paying 20%.
If you see a doctor who has not signed an agreement to accept Medicare-approved amounts, you will pay more -- possibly up to the full cost -- for a doctor's visit and care.

Here is another sad story for the US early retiree.

Clicky

US snow bird numbers are going down because current ones are either dying or staying home due to medical issues. They are not being replaced by younger US citizens because they no longer have the luxury of a pension like prior US generations, a secured (future) Social Security, or covered health care that is guaranteed for a lifetime. Those are all huge issues for most US families to deal with.

I have my doubts that it is only local to Texas also. If anything Texas may be showing it's colors early because of the current age group there. Like someone once said to me "if you plan on snow birding in Texas, expect to age ten years."

As they say YMMV.

John&Joey wrote:

...snip... I agree that food and campgrounds would have a greater effect than fuel....at this point anyway.

That still is small potatoes in my mind. Even if parks go up by $200/month and food goes up $200/month that's less then $2,500 for six months of snow birding. If $2,500/year breaks the bank then...

You need to look at the heavy hitters to understand why people choose not to retire early and RV. For me that would be health care costs, initial startup cost for an RV, ongoing depreciation of an RV, and monthly/yearly upkeep of an RV that is used only part of the year. If you FT then your view point on RV costs would be skewed since these are your only major costs to cover vs a land based home.

For many it's cheaper to stay employed for covered health care, and spend the extra money on a (or few) yearly destination vacation. Not my idea of a full life in ones later years, but it suites many and does make sense for them, and isn't a bad long term plan given the economy.

Totally concur with all.

...snip... I agree that food and campgrounds would have a greater effect than fuel....at this point anyway.

That still is small potatoes in my mind. Even if parks go up by $200/month and food goes up $200/month that's less then $2,500 for six months of snow birding. If $2,500/year breaks the bank then...

You need to look at the heavy hitters to understand why people choose not to retire early and RV. For me that would be health care costs, initial startup cost for an RV, ongoing depreciation of an RV, and monthly/yearly upkeep of an RV that is used only part of the year. If you FT then your view point on RV costs would be skewed since these are your only major costs to cover vs a land based home.

For many it's cheaper to stay employed for covered health care, and spend the extra money on a (or few) yearly destination vacation. Not my idea of a full life in ones later years, but it suites many and does make sense for them, and isn't a bad long term plan given the economy.

Pretty much looks like a 3- to 4-fold increase in fuel prices since we started RVing.

timmac wrote:
The cost of living and food has gone way up in the past 2 years and this alone is going to have a impact on travelers, its slowed me down some and I am not even retired yet, I plan more trips closer now and bring more food to not eat out so much, wait till all these retirees start to die off than what.

Food has definetely gone up. Technology continues to get cheaper though. TV's computers etc. Looking at the graph above it looks like fuel is about the same as 7 years ago which kinda concurs with what we have seen at the pump. But even if it was a buck more per gallon, we use about 150 gallons to go from Canada to Palm Springs. 150 bucks wouldn't have much effect on the budget in the big scheme of things. I agree that food and campgrounds would have a greater effect than fuel....at this point anyway.

The cost of living and food has gone way up in the past 2 years and this alone is going to have a impact on travelers, its slowed me down some and I am not even retired yet, I plan more trips closer now and bring more food to not eat out so much, wait till all these retirees start to die off than what.

Me Again wrote:


Really? Chris

Good graph. Looks like it's about 45 cents per gallon higher now than 8 years ago. Holy cow. Look at that peak in 08. Forgot about that one.

Really? Chris

her&I wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
I'm not sure costs have gone up much. Fuel hasn't changed in 8 years, maintenance probably up a bit along with food etc. Are campgrounds up much??

I don't know where you live but if fuel has not changed in "8 YEARS" I want to move there.

Well, we mostly RV in the USA so fuel is roughy what it was 8 or 9 years ago except for a few months around the meltdown in 2008. But even in BC and Alberta where we are in Canada it is marginally more. Maybe it's a regional thing.